Love at first sight
by Har-El
Summary: An alternate look at how Carter and Lucy met.


Disclaimers: I do not own ER or any ideas and characters affiliated with the show. I believe they are the joint property of NBC and Turner Broadcast Company, and who knows all else. I do not wish to be sued.

Note from the author: I should warn anybody that does not like Carter and Lucy being together to stay away from this 'fic.

Love at first sight

By Lucas Harrell

Carter was bored to tears. He had reluctantly allowed his grandmother to talk him into going to Las Vegas with her to check out some investment she was looking into for the Carter Foundation to finance.

Being bored wasn't the only thing that had him near tears. His cousin, Chase, had overdosed and now had to have help to do even simple things, like drinking from a glass or buttoning his shirt.

That also wasn't all he was almost crying over. A good friend of his, Anna Del Amico, whom he still had strong feelings for, left with her supposedly ex-boyfriend, who just happened to show up.

Carter never said anything to Anna, he wanted her to be happy, but he was almost positive that Max had taken the pain killers from the stockroom and then went on to lie to her about that.

All of that had convinced Jonathan Carter, or John as he liked to be called, to give up medicine and take up the family business. His life around the Cook County General Hospital's ER ended when Anna left.

"Gamma, would you mind if I walked around some?" Carter asked, as he joined her in the room she was staying in. He had the room right next door.

"I don't mind at all, John," Millicent Carter said, "Just don't be out all night."

"All right, Gamma," Carter said. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and left. Once outside, he rolled his eyes. His grandmother still treated him like a kid sometimes.

Carter walked down to the elevator and called it up. He punched the button for the first floor. Just as the doors were starting to close, a voice called out, "Hold the elevator, please." He put his hand between the elevator doors and waited for whoever it had been that called out.

A few seconds later, a vision of beauty stepped into the elevator. She was short, had blond hair, and the bluest eyes Carter had ever seen. She looked to be only a few years younger than him. "Thanks for holding the elevator open," the young woman said.

"Um, no problem," Carter said, "My name's John Carter. What's yours?" He extended his hand.

"Lucy Knight," she replied, giving him a smile that made her eyes twinkle. "Do you live around here?"

"No, I'm just visiting really," Carter replied, "I just flew in from Chicago."

"Me too," Lucy said, "Isn't that a coincidence? How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I don't mind," Carter said, "I'm 28. What about you?"

"23," Lucy said, "Are you in town for the intern convention thingy? I only ask because you look like a doctor."

Carter had to admit that she was good. Very good. "No, I'm here because my grandma needed someone to come with her for some meeting," he replied, "And I used to be a doctor, but I quit. Are you an intern?"

"Well, technically, I'm going into my third year in med school, so no," Lucy said.

"Oh," Carter replied. He was starting to enjoy her company. "I don't mean to be so straight forward, but would you like to have dinner with me?"

"Sure I would," Lucy said, giving him another dazzling smile. "I know of a nice little Italian restaurant right around the corner."

"Sounds great," Carter said, "Let's go." The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. The two stepped out and walked out of the hotel, heading straight for the restaurant Lucy had been talking about before.

By the time they got a table at the restaurant and ordered, John learned that Lucy was enjoyable company. In many ways, she reminded him of Anna. She liked to talk a lot, but wasn't rude in any way.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why did you give up medicine?" Lucy asked.

"There were several reasons, but three main ones," John replied, "My family's pressure to give it up for one. They didn't like my being a simple doctor. Another reason was that my cousin almost died because of drugs.

"The final main reason was that a good friend of mine left the hospital I had been working at," Carter continued, "All of those reasons, and a few others, made the decision to leave medicine easy."

"Oh," Lucy said. 'Ooh, he's so handsome,' she thought. "Well, I'm sad to hear about your cousin. He's not in a coma or anything, is he?"

"No, but he might as well be," Carter said, "He can't do even the simplest things, like hold a glass of water or coke without spilling it or buttoning his own shirt. It's usually a nurse or me, if I drop by in time. He was taking care of the family business before he crashed, so, after my friend left and I left medicine, I followed in his footsteps."

"Oh," Lucy said, "You know, I wouldn't mind having a teacher like you, for my hands on studies next year."

Carter laughed softly. "Well, sorry," he said, "I'm out of the doctor business for good. Wasn't quite working out for me anyway. I was only going to be a second year resident, and they don't get much money."

"Well, there's more to being a doctor than having money," Lucy pointed out, "It's the joy that you can get when you help a patient. I've heard that a smile from a patient can just wash your sorrows away."

"Yeah, well, don't believe it," Carter replied frankly.

"Well, I'll wait to believe when I see it," Lucy said, winking. Just then, they both heard a crash nearby. They jumped up, to see an old man falling. "John, call 911," Lucy called, as she rushed to the man.

Carter whipped out his cellular phone and dialed 911 as he ran over to Lucy, who was listening to the old man's chest. "I need an ambulance at the restaurant on Parker street," Carter said, "Possible heart attack."

"His pulse is a bit weak, and the same with his breathing," Lucy said. She turned to a man nearby, who looked to be the patients companion. "Does he have a history of heart problems to you knowledge?"

"Yes, but it hasn't bothered him in years," the man said, "I'm his son. Is he going to be all right?"

"As soon as we find exactly what's wrong with him, he should be," Carter answered for Lucy, as he pulled off his coat and set it off to the side. He kneeled down beside the patient, on the opposite side of where Lucy stood.

Lucy was puzzled for a moment, then smiled. "I don't think its a heart attack, Carter," she said, "I think he just fainted. The weak pulse and breathing might be considered a norm for a man his age when he's unconscious."

"Good point, but its better to be safe than sorry," Carter said.

"Are the two of you doctors?" the young man asked.

"Well, technically, I'm a med student," Lucy said, "But don't worry. My friend here is a doctor." Carter looked at her a bit strangely, so she mouthed "play along".

"That's right," Carter replied, "Doctor John Carter, at your service. I'm out of state, but I'm still a doctor. What's your fathers name?"

"Jack Austin," the young man said, "My name's Tim."

"Well, Tim," Lucy said, "We'll just have to see and hope that I'm correct about your father." She turned to the man on the floor. "Jack, can you hear me?"

"Yes," Jack said, "I can hear you, Cecilia."

Carter turned to Tim. "Cecilia's my late mothers name," Tim explained.

"Mr. Austin, this isn't your dead wife, I'm afraid," Lucy told Jack.

"Oh, I'm sorry, young lady," Jack said, sitting up. "I was a bit disoriented there for a moment."

"That's quite all right, Mr. Austin," Lucy said.

"Do you know where you're at?" Carter asked.

"Yes, I was having dinner with Tim, when I felt hot all of a sudden," Jack replied, "I remember complaining about the heat, and.... that's all I remember."

"You fainted, Mr. Austin," Carter said, "An ambulance in on its way. I might suggest going to the hospital, just to make sure of exactly what happened."

Jack nodded. "Never argue with a doctor, I always say," he replied. Lucy backed off slightly, and Carter and Tim gently helped Jack back up to his feet. "Thanks. Now, what are your names?"

"I'm Lucy Knight, and this is John Carter, Mr. Austin," Lucy said.

"Thank you, Lucy and John," Jack said, "I'm sorry if we spoiled your evening. And please call me Jack."

"That's quite all right, Mr. Au... er, Jack," Carter said, "Just doing our job."

Carter and Lucy waited for the ambulance to arrive and for Jack to leave before going back to their table. Their food was a bit cold, but that didn't bother them. "How does it feel to help someone again?" Lucy asked.

"To be honest, it feels wonderful," Carter said, "I had almost forgotten how good it felt to be in the action like that." Lucy smiled. 'She's even more beautiful when she smiles,' John realized.

They ate quickly and Carter paid the bill. Afterwards, they went walking around, checking out the sights of Las Vegas. When they made it back to their hotel later that night and he walked Lucy to her room, she seemed reluctant to let him go after she unlocked the door. "I've had a really great time tonight, John," she said.

"I did too, Lucy," Carter replied. Acting on impulse, he leaned forward and down slightly, and gave her a kiss. The kiss deepened, and her arms threaded around his neck, while his circled her waist.

"Mm, who say the night has to end so soon?" Lucy all but purred when they broke for air. To answer her, Carter gave her another kiss. They stepped into Lucy's hotel room, where she fumbled to put out the "Do not disturb" sign. The door closed softly behind them.

***

The next morning, Carter woke up and found himself in a unfamiliar hotel room, and a certain warm body snuggled up next to him. He quietly slipped out of the bed without waking Lucy and put his clothes back on. He looked at the clock, which read 8:30. "@#$%," he cursed, "Gamma wanted me to be at that 8 o'clock meeting she scheduled."

"Do you always tend to talk to yourself?" a soft voice interjected. Carter half turned, and saw Lucy sitting up in bed, smiling at him.

"Yeah, I guess I do, when I'm agitated," Carter said. He sat down on the bed and slipped his pants on. He gave Lucy another kiss as he stood back up. "I've got to go. I'm flying back to Chicago tomorrow, but I'd like to see you again, if that's possible. How about dinner again tonight?"

"Sounds great," Lucy said, "7 sound good?"

"Great," Carter replied, grinning for the first real time since Anna left the ER. He slipped Lucy another kiss before he hurried out the door. 'I do believe I'm falling in love,' he mused.

***

"I'm nervous, John," Lucy said.

"Don't be, sweetie," Carter replied, giving her a kiss. "You're going to do fine."

They were back in Chicago. Unknown to even Carter's grandmother, Carter and Lucy had been married in a small chapel in Las Vegas the night before she joined them on the flight back to Chicago in the Carter private jet.

After he had thought about it for a few days, Carter had decided to go back to medicine and Cook County General. His grandmother had understood and gave him her full blessing this time for once.

And now, it was time for Lucy's first day of her ER rotation. They were standing outside the building. When they had gotten back and he called to see about his job, he had been delighted to find that Dr. Green hadn't really turned in his resignation, but instead explained his absence as vacation days, which her luckily had a lot of.

"I guess I should go in first," Carter said. Lucy nodded and Carter made his way to the double doors after giving her another kiss. Inside, he didn't find anybody at the front desk. "Where is everybody?"

Carter looked around before heading into the doctors lounge. The lights were off, and when he turned them on, everybody sprung out. "SURPRISE!!!" they cried, "Welcome back, Carter!!!"

"Oh, man," Carter said, "Thanks, guys. I-I don't know what to say."

"Thanks is enough, buddy," Doug said, as they shook hands and Doug clapped him on the back.

"Check out that rock," Carol said, grabbing Carter's hand.

"Geez, Carter," Mark said, "What didd you do, run off and get married?" Everybody laughed.

"Actually, that's exactly what I did," Carter said, "I found a wonderful girl in Las Vegas, we fell in love, and we got married. And the best part about that is she lives right here in Chicago."

"Congratulations, Carter," Chuni said, giving him a hug.

"Who's the lucky girl?" Malik asked.

"Now, now, we don't need to invade on Carter's privacy," Kerri said, "Besides, we've got work to do."

Carter sighed with relief, as old 'Iron fist' Weaver got him out of a jam. They headed out of the lounge to work. Kerri and Carter were at the front desk a few minutes later. Everybody else was looking in on patients. "Excuse me." Carter didn't have to turn to see who talking. It was his new bride.

"Can we help you?" Kerri asked

"I'm Lucy Knight, the new med student," Lucy replied.

"Oh, right," Kerri said, "Well, I'm Dr. Weaver, and this is Dr. Carter. It's a pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand.

"The pleasure's all mine, Dr. Weaver," Lucy said, shaking Kerry's hand. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Carter." She extended her hand to John, who shook it.

"You too, Ms. Knight," John replied, trying hard to keep from grinning as he greeted his wife. The three of them were almost instantly swamped with patients, so they quickly went to work.

A little later, Carter and Lucy met at their new apartment. His grandmother had argued vehemently about him living anywhere but at the estate, but Carter was stubborn and won out.

"Mm, talk about a eventful first day," Lucy said, as she flopped down on the couch in the apartment. "I guess I should be grateful I got Doyle. We might be caught eventually if I had been your med student."

"True," Carter replied, "Don't worry about if you want to tell Maggie. She can keep a secret."

Lucy raised an eyebrow slightly. "Ooh, should I be jealous?" she teased.

Carter shook his head. "Come here, you," he pulled Lucy to her feet and gave her a big kiss.

"Mmm, now that wasn't an answer," Lucy replied, once they broke for air.

"You shouldn't be jealous," Carter said, "After all, Maggie's a lesbian."

"Somehow, that just doesn't surprise me," Lucy said, "Not after meeting everybody at County General. Is Dr. Benton always so brooding?"

"As long back as I've known him, yes, he is," Carter said, "But he's gets a little better once you get to know him. Not by much, but a little." Lucy laughed. "I love it when you laugh. I love you, period."

"I love you too, John," Lucy whispered. Giving her another kiss, Carter gently picked up his blushing bride and carried her into the bedroom.

The end... for now (I think)

Note from the author: At the moment, I don't know if I'm going to make a sequel to this or not. It all depends on the feedback. I switched a few things around, as anybody would notice, mostly just putting Lucy with Maggie. I didn't put that Bernard guy in it at all, as you probably noticed. I didn't like him much, so I wrote him out.


End file.
